Don't forget to do Step 12: to enable the Subversion perspective within Eclipse

Within Eclipse, download and install the Eclipse Maven plugin. At this time, we recommend using the latest stable development build (the second link on the page)

Connect to the SVN and download the ESAPI source. Directions can be found here

Download this script and edit it to match your directory structure. Then run the script to add ESAPI and Antisamy jar files to your Maven repository (enables building of ESAPI and Swingset)

If the script loads and quickly closes or there are build errors, it is likely that at least one of the references to files/folders is not correct

If you do not launch Eclipse from a shortcut, create a shortcut for Eclipse

Navigate to the directory where you installed Eclipse

Right-Click Eclipse.exe

Select Create Shortcut

Right-Click your Eclipse shortcut

Select Properties

At the end of the line that says Target, add -vm "x" where x is the location of a JDK. This step is necessary for the Maven plugin to work

Restart Eclipse using the edited shortcut.

Importing the ESAPI Source

To import the ESAPI source code into your workspace, you can either download the source files in a zip file from here or download the latest trunk from the ESAPI SVN.

The zip files containing the ESAPI source are official releases of the ESAPI. They will be updated whenever major changes are made to the ESAPI, whether features are added/removed, or if ESAPI undergoes a major organizational change. If you are planning on using the ESAPI's reference implementations and want to see ESAPI's source, but do not want to build your own JAR, you might download the ESAPI source zip file (available here).

The ESAPI trunk SVN contains the most up-to-date development version of ESAPI. The trunk may contain different code from the pre-zipped source. It may contain new features or be organized differently. The trunk is a development version of the ESAPI, meaning that contributors to the ESAPI project are actively editing this code, so while all contributors are encouraged to run all test cases on the code before committing it, developers using this code should run their own tests to be sure the code is fully functional. In addition, because the trunk code is in development, documentation regarding the ESAPI, especially Javadocs, may not be entirely accurate.

Source Code From a .zip

While there are a few ways to import the ESAPI project using a zip file of its source code, I recommend following these instructions. For the moment, I'll assume you are using Eclipse as your IDE. More tutorials may come in the future for other IDEs.

Subversion Setup

If you choose to use the ESAPI SVN code, follow the instructions here. Unless you have been added to the ESAPI project as a contributor, please use the bottom SVN checkout link on the Google Code page (non-SSL).

If you are using subclipse, as recommended, open Eclipse and:

Click File -> New -> Other.....

From the SVN Folder select '"Checkout Projects from SVN (this option will only be available if you have a SVN plugin installed) and hit Next >.

Click the Create a new repository location radio button.

If you are not listed as a project contributor, insert http://owasp-esapi-java.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/ as the URL. If you are listed as a project contributor, check the Google Code page for the URL to use. (Note: if you are a contributor, when prompted for your SVN password, use your Google generated password, available from the Google Code Source page.)

Once the directory structure appears in the window, click the URL at the top to download everything. Then hit Next >

Select your desired project options. For most people, the default options should be fine. When finished, click Next >.

Select your desired workspace options, then click Finish. The latest ESAPI source files will then be downloaded to your workspace. This may take a few minutes.

Project Setup

Some configuration may be necessary for ESAPI to compile and build on your system.

ESAPI requires the Java SDK 1.4. Java 1.4.2 is used by ESAPI to keep it backward compatible with environments that are still using older versions of Java. Please be sure this is downloaded and installed.

Once Java 1.4 is installed, open the Navigator view in Eclipse. If this is currently hidden, from the toolbar click Window -> Show View -> Navigator.

Right-click on the ESAPI project root folder in the Navigator view and select Properties.

From the left column, select Java Build Path. Under the Libraries tab, be sure the JRE listed is version 1.4. If it is not, remove the current JRE and click Add Library and select an alternate JRE. If you are having trouble figuring out what version the current JRE is, select Installed JREs and look at the location to which each version is mapped.

From the left column, select Java Compiler. Be sure Compiler compliance level, Generated .class files compatibility, and Source compatibility are all set to 1.4.

While the reference implementations are generally good for independent developers, most businesses will want to create their own security implementations based around the companies standard practices and infrastructure. This is why the Basic version is provided.

To build either version, simple right-click the build script for the desired build, select Run As -> Ant Build. The script should run, with output directed to the Console. When complete, the dist directory should contain a new JAR, the build directory will contain all class files (even the reference implementation class files in the Basic build), and javadoc/api will contain the newly generated Javadocs.

Problems Building?

If you have any problems while performing the steps above, be sure you have Apache Ant installed.
For help setting up Eclipse or integrating Ant within Eclipse, please read this article.

Compile problems after the build are usually caused by dependency issues. Please check your Java Build Path to be sure all the necessary files are included.

Note: not all of these libraries may be required if you do not plan on using the ESAPI reference implementations!

Please remember, ESAPI requires J2SE 1.4.2.

If any of these files are missing

To check if the above files are on your Java Build Path in Eclipse, Right-Click the ESAPI project folder and select properties, then select Java Build Path from the left column, and choose Libraries from the tabs on the right.

All of the files listed above, aside from the JRE, should have been downloaded in the source zip file. They should be located in /lib.